Robert Klaric - Secrets of the Property Expert: Your real estate survival guide

This book has been 25 years in the making and would never have been possible without my family, friends and the many people who have shared my passion for property.

First and foremost, the biggest thank you goes to my wife, Leonie: my better half and my soul mate. Your encouragement, support and belief in me from the very first day we met has never diminished and this book has become a reality because of you and our faith.

My two amazing children, my son Alex, 22, and my daughter, Renee, 21, are my inspiration in life. There could be no greater honour for any man than to have the privilege of watching you both grow up and to provide for you. No father could love his children more or be prouder of them. Your ability to learn, laugh, cry and have fun, often at my expense, has been the backbone of our family and you have made sure that I got this book finished and in print for you and the world to see.

My many clients over the years have given me the ingredients to create this book and without the many trials and tribulations we experienced together, we would have never discovered the true value of the property lessons learnt and be able to pass on today the knowledge to future generations.

I am also privileged to have worked with and alongside so many excellent estate agents and inspirational industry characters, too many to name, but you know who you are. A special and big thank you to John Listorti and Ian Hembry, the two real estate principals who gave me invaluable opportunities, guidance and mentoring in the early years of selling real estate.

I am also grateful to three unique and inspiring individuals who I am privileged to call friends. The consummate professionals in your respected professions, you set the highest benchmark in everything you do in business and personally. I thank Richard Wilkins AM, Nine Network Entertainment Director and TV presenter, Steven Bennett OAM, founder of Benbro and author of More than a Conqueror , and Dr Andrew Wilson, Senior Economist for the Domain Group and Australias leading housing market expert, for all the kind words and overwhelming support.

I needed a special person to guide the publication of this book and I found the very best in Australia, Juliet Rogers, the director of The Wild Colonial Company. Not only brilliant at what she has achieved in the publishing world over many years, she is also a great source of inspiration and assistance to a first-time writer like me. And her wicked sense of humour got us over the speed bumps along the way.

My big brother Steve Klaric has always worried about me and tried so hard to help me with my early education and protect me as I was growing up. Thank you, bro, for everything.

My thanks also to the late, beautiful Audrey Myrden, 44 and mother to three beautiful children all aged under 10 when she died of a brain tumour. The day you walked into our life, you changed the way we viewed real estate and property forever. Your words, so powerful and poignant, will last forever: Your home is where your heart is. You may have gone, but you will never be forgotten.

This book is dedicated to my late Croatian father, Vice Klaric, and my beautiful Italian mother, Vanda Bert-Klaric. They gave me more than just life. They sacrificed so much to leave their own homeland and come to Australia, the lucky country. They arrived in Sydney with only their dreams, blessed to be in the land of freedom, opportunity and hope. Thank you for always giving your children the courage and strength to believe that we could achieve anything in Australia if we worked really hard. And the harder we worked, the luckier we got!

Published in Australia in 2015 by
The Wild Colonial Company

The Wild Colonial Company

74 Palace Street

Petersham

NSW 2049

Australia

Front cover and internal design concepts: Working Ideas

Page and cover layout: Quentin Wilson

Text copyright Robert Klaric 2015

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Author: Klaric, Robert, author.

Title: Secrets of the property expert : your real estate survival guide / Robert Klaric.

ISBN: 9781925280227 (eBook)

Subjects: Real property--Australia.

Real property--Purchasing--Australia.

Selling--Real property--Australia.

Real estate investment--Australia.

Dewey Number: 346.043

Digital edition distributed by

Port Campbell Press

www.portcampbellpress.com.au

Conversion by

THE SECRETS TO BUYING REAL ESTATE

The Plan

Decisions, Decisions

Show Me the Money

Buying Well

THE SECRETS TO SELLING REAL ESTATE

Before You Sell

How to Sell

Its All About Strategy

Looking Good

Open Homes

The Price of Success

THE ART OF NEGOTIATION

United You Stand

Knowledge is Power

The Dos and Donts of Good Negotiation

Now Youre Ready

In the fast and furious world of real estate, a nave property consumer, often emotionally invested in the outcome of the deal, is at the mercy of those who make their living by the power of negotiation.

Trust me: Im a
real estate agent.

Not the most reassuring words youve ever heard, Im sure, but after 25 years experience in the real estate market, theres not much I dont know about the art of buying and selling property.

My wife, Leonie, and I are now consumer advocates in our business, The Property Expert, helping people to buy and sell property. We understand that real estate can be bewildering to the uninitiated and believe that our experience can protect consumers from the risk of costly mistakes, by guiding and empowering them to make the right decisions for their own future. We also believe that its now time for us to give back to the industry and the consumers who have supported us.

With the best will in the world, however, we cant be available to everyone who needs us, but we can offer that assistance through this book.

Real estate negotiation isnt rocket science, if you can learn how to read and interpret the signs correctly. I believe that this book will give you the confidence and wisdom to deal with every real estate situation, by showing you how to achieve the best outcome from any and every property deal.

Understand how to negotiate, who to deal with and what to look out for, when youre making one of the biggest financial decisions of your life. If I can do it, then anyone can!

Roberts story

I came from a poor, hardworking migrant home in the western suburbs of Sydney. I didnt pass any subjects at school, except for physical education, and my life was pretty much focused on my love of playing football.

But my Italian mother, Vanda, and my late Croatian father, Vince, always reminded me that I was blessed to live in the luckiest country of all. They believed, and taught me to believe, that I could achieve anything I wanted by working hard and being passionate about whatever path I chose. Simple words, I know, but Ive held them close to my heart throughout my life.